Thoughts on this setup? Any experience here?

[Fields]

28 foot diameter, galvanized steel tubing, avian netting, wood. Area is around 615 square feet. Not only do I think it looks cool, it gives me more room to grow my flock. Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

 

[Mtn Cur]

Looks expensive. Only you can decide if it is worthwhile or economical for your goals.

I realize I'm a minority on here. But chickens are cheap to replace. I personally do not spend anymore than necessary. There isn't a great deal of profit from raising chickens to begin with. Then factor in the infrastructure that most suggest on here. Doesn't take long to get in the negative and even harder to come out of it. I love having chickens. But they will never know the difference between a couple hundred dollars spent on them or a couple thousand. I say go cheap as you can

 

[Fields]

Its around $3,500 - which is a couple thousand cheaper than a ched I was going to get and convert. I want to eventually have a LOT of chickens, and feel this is a real possibility. Just wanting to hear from others. Thanks.

 

[Aunt Angus]

28 foot diameter, galvanized steel tubing, avian netting, wood. Area is around 615 square feet. Not only do I think it looks cool, it gives me more room to grow my flock. Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

There is far more vertical space than you'll need, I think. It does look cool, though.

I have over 600sq ft between my run and chicken yard, and it really isn't that much space. I have 12 chickens and 4 ducks. It feels full. I am going to expand to over 1000 sq ft, and I don't plan to go over 25 birds total. The shed I'm converting is going to cost about $1k, and the fence will be around $600, including aviary netting over the top.

Do whatever will suit your needs/wants of course, but I think you could do something larger for less. But probably not as stylish!

 

[rosemarythyme]

Looks cool but if it's netting all the way to the ground you'll need to reinforce the bottom few feet at the very least with wire mesh with no larger than 1/2" openings.

Also since I've never been to your area, is snow ever a concern? If yes, how much weight can this hold and/or how hard would it be to knock off any build up?

 

[saysfaa]

Its around $3,500 - which is a couple thousand cheaper than a ched I was going to get and convert....

If it is covered by avian netting, it would functionally be a run rather than a shed. It will keep the chickens in and hawks and owls out but it will not do much else.

 

[rosemarythyme]

If it is covered by avian netting, it would functionally be a run rather than a shed.

Oh yes, I didn't catch that... I thought the intention was as a run.

 

[raingarden]

That's the neatest thing I've ever seen. The duck dome.

 

[LoveMyGurls]

Can I mention my thoughts? It's a lot of money for when a fox comes along (or whatever preditor you have there) and rips a big fat hole in it and bingo.... your money's gone down the drain. Chickens tend to not roam too far. There are some free-range chickens down the road and they go right up to the main road and never go past. They have full flight feathers too. This just seems like a waste of money purely because it's not going to save them and why keep them from straying when they won't anyway? Only my thoughts though and so please don't let that put a downer on things if you've got your heart set on this.

 

[DobieLover]

Chickens tend to not roam too far. There are some free-range chickens down the road and they go right up to the main road and never go past.

I really think it depends on the chickens.
My chickens roamed far and wide. I couldn't see them from the house, they crossed the road and were nearly hit twice (that I saw) and would parade right down the middle of the road and march up the hill.
On vacation in DE we drove past a lovely flock of SLW scratching around the yard. On the way back to the house we drove past a dead SLW laying at the side of the road.

I too think the dome is cool but would never spend that kind of money on it, especially because it's just the start. You'd still need to invest in predator proofing it.

I have about $2500 into my entire setup including coop (converted shed), a 28x12 run with 16x4 annex off the back solid roofed predator proof run attached (built from scratch), three lengths of 164' x 42" high poultry netting that enclose 1/3 acre of well planted grounds, 10,000-volt charger, fence posts, gates, chicken supplies... everything. I have housed up to 30 birds. In the 3 years they've been in this setup, I've only lost one young pullet to a hawk. The grass is green and they are happy and that makes me happy and therefore worth every penny.